Real Wedding ~ Brianna and Tony

We can't get enough of Brianna and Tony's spring wedding at the Clifton Inn in Charlottesville, VA, photographed by the always amazing Joy Marie Photography. Brianna accessorized her gown with a pair of bold violet heels that set the tone for an event palette of violet and cream with accents of green. The bridesmaids wore vintage-look cream lace party dresses and carried soft white bouquets with green collars created by Pat's Floral Designs. We especially love the gorgeous place cards set on deep purple fabric and the dramatic tall centerpiece arrangements on wrought iron trees made with violet and bright green orchids. Guests danced the night away and made fun pictures in an old-school photo booth until Brianna and Tony ended the reception with a leap into the Inn's sparkling pool! For more of Brianna and Tony's wedding, visit the Joy Marie Photography blog.

Credits:
Photography: Joy Marie Photography. Gown: Jim Hjelm. Shoes: JLo. Hair and Makeup: Virginia Glenn from Reflections. Florist: Pat's Floral Designs. Caterer: The Clifton Inn. DJ: 20 South Productions. Invitations: Invitesite.com. Transportation: Ambassador Limo Service.

How Do We Thank Thee....

Hello Thursday! Here at Weddings Unveiled and Completely Unveiled, Thursdays mean that it's time to be thankful and show our appreciation to all our amazing friends, fans and followers. We'd like to take a moment to thank everyone in the blogosphere who featured or wrote about Weddings Unveiled on their blogs during the past couple of weeks. We're super-busy working on the upcoming Sring 2010 issue and are so grateful for all the support and kind words from fellow wedding professionals, our blog and Twitter followers and our Facebook fans! We've included a sampling below of some of the posts we've been featured in. Be sure to visit all these fantastic blogs and leave a comment to share the love!

Raspberry

Are you looking for really cool, kind of rock 'n' roll wedding invitations? We love these designs by Raspberry inspired by music and concert posters. The use of unique fonts and distressing techniques give them a hip, edgy feel with a little bit of a retro vibe thrown in. Designs are customized to your event (duh) and are available in an array of colors and styles. If it's true that invitations and save-the-dates give guests the first impression of your wedding day, we'd be the first to rsvp to one of these.

Visit the Raspberry etsy shop to see all the designs available and to contact them for your own custom inviations and wedding papers.

Real Wedding ~ Carla and Don

Every wedding has a behind-the-scenes story and, as you can imagine, we've heard a lot of them. Our personal favorite is something that happens pretty often - a groomsman opens up his tuxedo bag to find too-short or too-long pants, wrongly sized shoes, too-big or (even more hilarious) a too-small shirt/vest/jacket or pair of pants. That being said, Carla and Don's Wilmington, NC wedding has a back story that takes the cake (pun intended). Looking at these bright, happy images created by our good friends at Millie Holloman Photography, you'd never guess that moments before Carla walked down the aisle, she had a major wedding dress crisis. She stepped into her wedding gown and discovered that the zipper was broken. All attempts to repair it were unsuccessful and Carla's mother even tried to sew her into the gown. Thankfully one of Carla's bridesmaids knew the manager of a local bridal salon, who happily came to the rescue. A short phone call later and 10 new dresses were delivered to Carla's hotel. Crisis averted, Carla slipped into a new gown and married Don in a sunny outdoor ceremony on the grounds of the beautiful Landfall Club.

Carla's bridesmaid's wore convertible dresses in bold violet, creating the base tone for an event palette of rich purple with accents of chartreuse, yellow and fuchsia. Salt Harbor Designs created brilliant massed bouquets, a rustic wooden canopy draped with billowing white fabric for the centerpiece of the ceremony and gathered tabletop arrangments in twine-wrapped mason jars and wooden boxes for the reception. We especially love the tree stump candle displays and the dog-themed table numbers! Visit the Millie Holloman Photography blog for a full wedding recap and for more images of Carla and Don's wedding.

Credits:
Photography: Rachel and Rebecca from Millie Holloman Photography. Venue: The Landfall Club. Florist: Salt Harbor Designs.

Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal

Here at Weddings Unveiled, we have been long-time fans of Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal. Jim's cakes have appeared in many of our real wedding features and he is, without a doubt, the South's baking superstar. When you want a showstopping confection, Jim's ultra-chic style is unmistakable and his talent is unmatched. He is the go-to guy for the Lowcountry's finest event planners and one of the most well-known and sought-after cake designers in the Southern region.

Based in Charleston, SC, Jim has been creating cakes in the Lowcountry since 1987, with designs made almost entirely of delicious buttercream with intricate piped detailing in a wide variety of flavors. We've included images of a few of our favorite cakes by Jim, but we especially like his displays of multiple cakes with coordinated designs. For more information and to see more of Jim's amazing work, visit the Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal website!

E Session ~ Sara and Nick

As more frosty weather approaches the South, it seems winter is in for the long haul this year... but we can still dream of warmer weather and fun in the sun. Needless to say, we're ready to pack the car and go to whereever Sara and Nick are in this gorgeous engagement session sent to us by lunaphoto. Its Endless Summer feel has us yearning for a long, lazy seaside soujourn. We love the well-used surfboard (not just a prop!), their beach blanket for two and picnic basket. Sara's adorable red pin-up inspired suit and fun heart shaped sunglasses have a retro-feel, while Nick's Ray-Bans and straw fedora are 60's beach all the way. The warmth of the lighting and closeness of these images have a soft beauty that we can't get enough of. To see more of Sara and Nick's beach engagement session visit lunaphoto's blog.

The Wedding Experience

Don't miss The Wedding Experience presented by StudioWed on May 2nd, 2010 at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, GA, featuring the legendary Tara Guérard of Soirée. The Wedding Experience is a regional educational and interactive bridal experience for engaged couples, featuring an impressive group of wedding professionals from StudioWed's Asheville, Atlanta and Nashville locations. Weddings Unveiled has teamed up with StudioWed as the regional media sponsor of this amazing event where you'll enjoy wedding planning seminars covering everything from wedding logistics to decor, photography, and more! Meet the some of the South's finest wedding and event professionals and have all your wedding day questions answered by industry experts. One lucky couple attending the Wedding Experience will win a romantic getaway sponsored by Vacation Express and the Atlantan Brides for a 3 night stay at Excellence Punta Cana luxury resort in the Dominican Republic.

Visit the The Wedding Experience website for all the details and register to attend today!